This past weekend Silvercore conducted yet another successful Combatives course at the Justice Institute of British Columbia. This eagerly anticipated course usually fills up quickly and is generally offered every few months. So what is it and what does it entail?

The Combatives course is a 2 day program detailing skills necessary to successfully prepare an individual for a potentially violent encounter – ranging from verbal abuse, empty hand attacks, knife defence, knife employment and use, defence from bludgeoning attacks from objects like sticks and even defending oneself from firearms within a certain range. All the skills practiced are done so from a legally justifiable standpoint, within the context of use of force and Canadian self-defence law. The skill-sets are simple, easy to learn, and are gross motor based. They are intentionally limited to keep them basic and applicable to the widest possible use and allowing them to be reasonably be applied under extremely stressful conditions. The course is held in a non-threatening, supportive environment, where learning takes precedence over ego, and although physical and aggressive in nature it is suitable for men and women of all ages and physical abilities.

Day 1 begins with a short lecture ranging from self-defence law/justifiable use of force, mindset and awareness, critical incident stress and deterrence/avoidance strategies among other self- defence topics. From the discussion we move directly into the physical skill part of the day. Distance/timing, defensive positions, some simple strikes and defensive movements fill up most of the morning. After lunch we move into situational scenarios detailing some “what if” concepts. Ranging from attacks like being choked in various ways, grabbed, pinned against a wall, having to come to the aid of a friend or loved one and struck repeatedly to name a few. Ground defence is an important component of the day and comes next. Take-down avoidance, defence from common holds and returning to a standing position to escape and disengage are practiced. Combinations of skills already practiced are put together with a pressure testing session at the end of the day. The instructors put on protective suits and the students respond to attacks with close to full force and test their mental stamina by continuing to defend themselves for at least a full minute.

Day 2 begins with a discussion on knife and stick defence. CCTV footage is viewed and broken down to illustrate common criminal use of the knife and bludgeons and how to respond in a way to defend against the most common methods statistically employed. We begin by looking at and practicing methods of deploying a pocket knife, cutting angles and concepts relating to targeting. Empty hand defence against someone using a knife against you follows, using gross motor skill and simple concepts of meeting angles. We then introduce the scenario of you having a knife yourself and employing it in defence from a similarly armed opponent. Both skill-sets are then pressure tested against a partner.

Stick defence helps individuals understand distance and timing, moving into the arc of an attack or disengaging if possible. If unavoidable, using empty hand skills against an armed opponent with a bludgeoning tool are practiced extensively. As with knife defence, we then introduce the scenario of you having a stick of your own and employing it against an armed opponent as well.

The last thing we tackle is the concept of defending against firearms as it should always be considered a last resort when the feeling would be that there is no other choice and compliance is not adequate. We first discuss the concepts involved, the distances and dynamics needed to accomplish a disarm and the mindset required to continue until successful. We go through the physical skills of disarming of handguns pointed at the body from both the front and rear, both high and low. Long guns are then addressed as the techniques are slightly different based on the extended length of the firearm. To end the day pressure testing may also be addressed to show the importance of mindset and physically overwhelming the opponent when dealing with firearms.

Silvercore prides itself on delivering a quality course both in the instruction and the equipment. Not only are the instructors experts in their field, fully experienced and versed in the techniques but the material and equipment used on the course are professional and purpose based. We use High Gear suits for full protection in scenarios, training weapons of high quality such as ASP brand red guns, folding knife trainers, and both rattan and foam covered PVC batons for contact practice (ASP batons are also used for deployment practice but not actual contact). Although most equipment is provided by Silvercore, it is also recommended that students bring additional protective equipment such as mouth guards, groin protection, and forearm/elbow guards if they wish a more dynamic experience.

Feel free to call or email for more details on this course and others or to book a spot on the next Combatives course!

This week we finalized some details to bring in a guest instructor up to Canada for a 3 day shooting and lecture event early next year. The instructor is 2010 Law Enforcement Trainer of the Year Dave Spaulding who heads up his own training company; Handgun Combatives.

Dave is a long time serving law enforcement veteran who’s been on the firearms training scene for many years. He has been involved with firearms and Use of Force training for law enforcement for many years as well as deployment on SWAT, drug units and other high-risk assignments bringing him intimate knowledge of armed conflict.

Now retired from policing he has taken up training as a full time career. Dave has taught all over the U.S. from coast to coast and is widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities of the defensive handgun. He is the author of 2 highly acclaimed books: Handgun Combatives and Defensive Living as well as having produced several high quality, popular training videos. Dave is not only a phenomenal instructor and shooter but is also a graduate of almost every well known and well recognized shooting school in the US. He is extremely humble and considers himself a life-long student of the gun bringing a refreshing perspective to firearms training in an environment where sometimes egos can run rampant.

The 3 day event will begin with 2 days of shooting at the Justice Institute of British Columbia. The course being offered by Dave is “Situational Pistol” described from Dave’s site “Hangun Combatives” : “The handgun is a reactive/reflexive weapon, one that will need to be adapted to the individual situation one may face. There is no way any instructor can train the student for every situation they may face but being able to adapt quickly to the rapidly unfolding situation is the key to winning in combat. This course is designed to help the student adapt their essential skills to rapidly unfolding situations. Skills such as explosive goal-oriented movement, use of cover, unconventional positions and dynamic manipulation are just some of the topics covered. Adaptation to the rapidly changing environment is the key to victory! ” Day 3 will be a lecture on Developing the Combative Mindset: a course designed to introduce the student to the most important aspect of conflict preparation. Without the will the skill to fight is worthless. While no course can implant awareness and willingness in any individual, the class will help the student prepare their brain to fight instead of freeze.

This is Dave’s first foray into Canada and we hope to make the event memorable for all who can find the time to attend this unique and exciting training experience! Silvercore prides itself on being Canada’s premier shooting academy and as such we want to provide not only our own expert, professional and quality training to our students but also bring guest instructors in who have the knowledge, skill and experience to give our students the best possible training and information available to the firearms market.

Over the weekend Silvercore hosted its Handgun Level 3 course at the Justice Institute of British Columbia range facility. The course is designed to increase awareness of advanced defensive shooting concepts to the armed professional and civilian alike.

Some of the topics covered include tactics and deployment of the pistol from concealed carry positions, shooting from positions of disadvantage such as sitting/supine, shooting from a seated position in a chair or car and a large portion of the class is dedicated to defensive use of cover slow methodical structure clearing and dynamic room entry techniques. The US Federal Air Marshal’s course of fire is challenged to give us a standard to work towards and achieve and we modify other competitive drills to increase their applicability to the defensive shooting world by adding multiple targets, grounded targets and targets facing at oblique angles.

Mindset plays a large part in the defensive shooting world. The students are always challenged and reminded throughout the course to continually be aware of their surroundings and maintain a combative frame of mind. Through movement, scanning and positioning/seeking cover this mindset can be re-enforced. The students are also challenged with “wounded shooter drills” to practice their skills while employing the use of only their dominant or non-dominant hand; even malfunctions. On day 2 there is also a large component of low-light shooting/flashlight work with different lighting conditions in the range allowing for advanced target recognition drills and structure clearing scenarios that can’t be done at an outdoor range facility – giving our course a distinct advantage for those who operate in urban environments with less than ideal lighting conditions.

Last week Silvercore instructors had the opportunity to participate in a shotgun instructor development training course at the Justice Institute of British Columbia. Topics covered a variety of shotgun related subject matter and shooting skill-sets. The emphasis was on both the tactical use of the defensive shotgun in context for the Use of Force training program that we offer and in a wildlife defensive context offered in our Bear Defence training programs.

Silvercore maintains a high standard for its instructor’s skills and values its position as the industry leader in public firearms training in Canada. The instructor development program we offer continues to ensure that our instructors stay current and fresh in their ability to deliver quality, detailed instruction to both our corporate and public clients.

Our live-fire program continues to grow in both numbers of existing courses and expanding into different firearms-related avenues. This expansion necessitates that instructors are well rounded and experienced in all aspects of firearms and related training from the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC/CRFSC), handguns, shotguns, rifles, Use of Force and combatives.

Things have been busy in the last few weeks here at Silvercore. Our ammo contest is in full swing and if you want to get in on it now’s the time! You can win 1000 rounds of 9mm one of two ways: Simply “like” us on Facebook and / or our Google Plus page and include a written review. Once you have submitted your review email us at info@silvercore.ca with a link to that review. You will be entitled to one contest entry for the Facebook review and one contest entry for the Google Plus review. When our Facebook page reaches 1250 likes we will draw the prize and announce the winner. There’s still some time left before we reach the magic number – but not much!

We also recently completed a stretch of two back to back Handgun 1 courses last week; on Thursday/Friday and Saturday/Sunday. Both were full and the students did a fantastic job. We had a lot of fun and everyone shot well over both courses. Handgun 1 is our introductory handgun shooting course that guides the student through the fundamentals of handgun shooting, principles of marksmanship and gives the student a sound, solid platform to work from in order to practice and improve their skills over time. We also tackle cleaning, maintenance and several legal concepts in relation to restricted firearms.

Silvercore continually strives to maintain our position as the industry leader in firearms training and personal safety in Canada to both the public and corporate markets.